Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol Movie Poster by Drew Struzan (Jan. 1987)

Arguably the greatest non-nude Bobcat Goldthwait painting on the planet?

I grew up with the Police Academy movies on constant repeat and quoting Mahoney, Hooks, and Tackleberry far more than most 10-year olds did.

My absolute favorite of the movie posters was this one, Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol. What a layout!!

It boasts all the Academy regulars, including Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), Jones (Michael Winslow), Hightower (Bubba Smith), Hooks (Marion Ramsey), Tackleberry (David Graf), Lassard (George Gaynes), Callahan (Leslie Easterbrook), Sweetchuck (Tim Kazurinsky), and Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait!)!! (Not shown: Academy Award nominee Sharon Stone and Mrs. Feldman)

While this movie is often remembered as Steve Guttenberg's final film, it was also Drew's, who'd created the posters for the first 3 films (and did comps for the 5th). It's the oft-overlooked fifth series Drew took on, alongside Back to the Future, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and The Muppets.

Drew always seemed to bring something special when he waved goodbye to characters he loved, and it sure showed in this piece, delivering one of the most polished finishes I've seen, just as he was hitting the true peak of his power in 1987. This is light gesso, though, so no fun swirls or texture.

It's also enormous, coming in at a whopping 32" x 42" AND going edge to edge!! Most of Drew's posters are on 30" x 40" board with margins. For comparison, this has double the surface area of my BTTF poster!!

FRAMING:
I am thrilled with how this came out, an absurd triple-frame with a spacer instead of a matte so we can see edge-to-edge. The yellow and orange frames help to anchor the balloon to the top corner, as if I'm looking out the window and notice this fly by. I also love that we found frames with a texture that hints at the basket and rendering.

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Acrylic & Prisma on Illustration Board, 32 x 42"

Stamped Jan 1, 1987 on back. (I would've been 10!)
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